Towson center Earl suspended for undisclosed school offense

On Colleges

Towson State's men's basketball roster had a couple of changes for last night's season opener against Old Dominion.

Junior center Derrick Earl, who averaged 4.1 points and 2.6 assists in a reserve role last year, has been suspended indefinitely for what coach Terry Truax called a university offense.

Earl, 6 feet 6, who has been slowed by a knee injury, was expected to play a lot this year with the departures of Matt Dellinger and Stevie Thomas.

Earl, who was on the bench in street clothes, had his right knee scoped Sept. 24, and Truax said that he might not have been physically ready to play anyway.

"He's indefinitely suspended from the team pending the findings of a judiciary committee hearing or meeting, and it should be perhaps as early as the middle of next week," Truax said. "It starts as a school matter first, but then, obviously, it carries over to a team thing. It's a university offense. But I don't know when Derrick was going to be physically ready to play."

Junior Ryan Lexer started at center last night.

Junior Ryan Hannon (Poly), a 6-6 forward/center, joined the team as a walk-on.

Home-court advantage

Towson State opens the America East volleyball tournament today as more than just the No. 1 seed. The Tigers also are the host school.

They'll play either fourth seed Delaware or fifth seed Northeastern in the 8 p.m. semifinal. The championship match is tomorrow at 1 p.m.

The winner will play Siena on Tuesday in the NCAA play-in match. Siena won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament.

Towson State (16-15) is led by senior All-America East selection Laura Taneyhill (Centennial), who ranks among the league leaders in kills, hitting percentage and digs. Sophomore Heather Hutson (Glen Burnie) is third in the league with 9.5 assists a game.

Melissa Pershing, the team's only freshman, was named America East Rookie of the Year. Coach Cathy Cain was chosen Coach of the Year.

Tennis aces

Loyola College's women's tennis team, coached by Rick McClure, placed second at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships and finished with a 17-1 dual-match record, winning its last 16 in a row.

Some underclassmen also made major contributions. Stephanie Potter was 15-6 and MAAC champion at No. 1 singles. Freshman Jessica Worden teamed with freshman Laura Faulkner to go 15-3 at No. 3 doubles and win the MAAC title.

Miscellaneous

Last year, Towson State had three players named to the men's soccer all-league first team. This season, it had none. Junior defender Ian Wildey made the America East second team. The men's and women's soccer, field hockey and volleyball teams at Salisbury State went a combined 66-25-1 (.725), and each made its respective Capital Athletic Conference tournament final, with the field hockey team winning its second straight title. St. Mary's senior hitter Tracy Morgan (Perry Hall), who broke seven school records this season, has been named to the GTE District II Academic All-America volleyball team. She's a biology major with a 3.6 GPA. St. Mary's sailing team took first place at the freshman Atlantic Coast Championships.